Celina man injured in crash near New Knoxville

NEW KNOXVILLE — A Celina man was seriously injured after he drove his car into the side of a tractor-trailer west of New Knoxville on Thursday morning.

Sgt. Brian Jordan of the Wapakoneta post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said Lyndell L. Belcher, 46, was driving east on state Route 219 in a 2007 Ford Focus shortly after 6 a.m. when he failed to yield at the intersection with state Route 66. Belcher's vehicle drove into the side of a 1997 Ford tractor-trailer driven by Clifford L. Wise Jr., 56, of St. Marys, that was heading north.

Wise was not injured, Jordan said.

Jordan said investigators do not believe alcohol was involved in the crash. As for other possible factors, troopers have no information whether Belcher was distracted and didn't see the stop sign or whether he suffered a medical emergency before the crash, Jordan said.

“My understanding is that he didn't even attempt to stop,” Jordan said. “At this point, it's still under investigation why he did that.”

Jordan said Belcher was taken first to Joint Township District Memorial Hospital in St. Marys. He was then transferred by medical helicopter to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, where he was listed in critical condition late Thursday, Jordan said.

Jordan said the roads were dry at the time so weather was not believed to have contributed to the crash.

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